"We were really hungry for a big win against a good team," Panthers coach Drew Paquin said. "A lot of our losses have been pretty close. We finally were able to put together four quarters instead of two or three."

Phil Coullard led the Panthers (6-7) with 20 points, Elijah Leach had 16, Cameron Ledy had 13 and Jarred Lavigne had 12. But it was the Panthers' defense and free-throw shooting that led them to the win.

Ray'Shon Anderson hit seven 3-pointers for the Blue Devils and finished with 41 points, Kyle Root had 12 and Ray'Nell Anderson had 11.

The 12 points allowed to the Sault's frontcourt players was the gameplan for the Panthers.

"We wanted to protect the paint," Paquin said. "We wanted to limit them to outside shots and not give them easy points. (Ray'Shon) exploited us a little bit, he knocked down some big outside shots, but that was kind of our game plan."

The Panthers were 23-of-37 from the free-throw line, while the Blue Devil were 11-of-14.

The Panthers play at Gaylord St. Mary on Wednesday and host Brimley on Friday, while the Blue Devils host St. Ignace on Friday.